The Last Cassette Factory in Malaysia

JUICE speaks to both ends of the demand and supply of cassettes to uncover why the supposedly archaic physical medium – whose sound quality isn’t even up to par with digital formats – is still viable in this day and age of online streaming and illegal downloading of music.

How JUICE discovered Express Audio Industry — the last cassette factory in Malaysia — is how many other people have found the company; through word of mouth. Having had the opportunity to interview a number of local musicians, if the conversation would veer into cassette releases, the name of the factory would come up and the fact of their terminal existence would be emphasised. Although we knew that cassettes are still a staple among the DIY, underground scene, we were nevertheless intrigued by the whole notion that cassettes are still relevant at all, so, we decided to investigate into the matter.

Express Audio Industry Sdn. Bhd. has had an illustrious business back in the ‘80s and the ‘90s when cassettes were enjoying the luxury of being the popular medium for people to enjoy music. The company had the exclusive deal with conglomerate record label Polygram to press all the releases of their expansive roster of local and international artistes, from Cantopop à la Alan Tam, to beloved heavy metal band Metallica, to popular ‘70s local rock band Alleycats. They were a key player in the cassette duplication industry, but as one can imagine, when CDs came along in the ’90s, followed by the personal CD-ROM burners that enabled easy quality and efficient duplication (read: piracy), the decline in sales for cassettes started to occur.

Kids, do you know what this is?

Before Spotify, people used to drive around listening to music on this relic, the car stereo.

Collectors and music fans wearing the T-shirts of obscure rock bands brave the tropical heat outside a record store near Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, waiting to get their hands on new cassette tapes.

No, this isn’t a flashback to the 1980s, but an event marking recent International Cassette Store Day, an annual celebration of a music format once thought headed for extinction but now enjoying a rebirth.

Vinyl’s renaissance is well-documented and now it seems cassettes are rising from the grave, with artists such as Kanye West and Justin Bieber releasing songs on tape.

In South-East Asia low production costs and a retro-cool image have made cassettes an underground-music fixture, especially for struggling bands getting their name out.

“Cassettes are our best sellers,” Mohammad Radzi Jasni, owner of the store, Teenage Head Records, said after shoving one by Singaporean surf-punk band Force Vomit into a bulky tape player.

“They are still the best way to discover new bands here. It’s very affordable for the guys releasing it and the fans buying them,” he added.

Manufacturing costs can be as low as RM4 per tape in Malaysia, compared to RM60 to RM80 for a vinyl record. Vinyl’s cost is a hurdle for young bands and DIY labels in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

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Jom semak senarai di bawah dan cari di manakah silap kamu ketika mengamalkan gaya hidup diet.

Gula

Sebenarnya kita langsung tidak menyedari bahawa makanan manis seperti pasta, sup, sereal, salad dan sos mengandung gula dan juga bahan pemanis seperti sari tebu, buah, glukosa, dekstrosa, sukrosa dan madu. Jika kamu mengambilnya dalam jumlah yang tinggi, kamu akan kehilangan nutrisi penting daripada makanan dan akan kehilangan nutrisi penting daripada makanan dan membuatkan selera makan kamu semakin bertambah.

Is Your Financial Portfolio Missing One Key Ingredient?

Majority of Malaysians do not have adequate insurance coverage. This situation exists because not many of us are aware of the importance of financial protection, as we’ve been focusing solely on wealth accumulation through savings or investment gains.

What if we told you that not having adequate insurance coverage actually means you will risk missing out on your investment?

According to the “Protection gap or under-insurance gap in Malaysia” study, commissioned by Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM), both insurance and takaful cover only 56% of the Malaysian population – which is pretty low compared to other developed countries.

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Click the picture to watch the Movie

Spectre (2015) is the twenty-fourth James Bond film produced by Eon Productions, and is the direct sequel to the 2012 film Skyfall. It features Daniel Craig in his fourth performance as James Bond, and Christoph Waltz as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, with the film marking the character's re-introduction into the series. It was directed by Sam Mendes as his second James Bond film following Skyfall, and was written by John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Jez Butterworth. It is distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayerand Columbia Pictures. With a budget of $245–350 million, it is the most expensive Bond film and one of the most expensive films ever made.

Nasi Serai II

Sedang memikirkan apakah nak di sajikan untuk para tetamu hujung minggu ni? Apa kata kita cari suatu kelainan. 

Kalau terasa nak kan kelainan, cuba olah kelainan. Apa kata kita buat nasi serai.. pasti menarik kan..? 

Fakta Kegemukan yg orang tak tahu di Malaysia

Penting! Penting! penting!

Aduhai, satu fakta yang mengejutkan yang saya perolehi daripada World Health Organization (WHO) dan juga Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM) berkenaan mereka yang OBES!

1. WHO : Kadar Obesiti di Malaysia adalah pada ranking ke-6 daripada 48 buah negara di Asia.. Fuuhhh!

2. KKM : 30% penduduk Malaysia mengalami masalah Berat Badan Berlebihan manakala 30% lagi mengalami masalah Obesiti!... Fuuhhh!

Fuuhhhhh... fakta menarik untuk kita bincangkan, kan? Jom kita ulas sikit mengenai fakta tersebut..Kenapa?

Betul ke tidak fakta ni? boleh dipercayai ke? atau WHO dan KKM saja je nak menakutkan kita..Oklah, untuk membuktikannya, mudah saja! Kita boleh je ambil contoh di sekeliling kita.. Sebagai contoh kakak kita, mak cik pak cik kita, jiran kita,atau kawan-kawan kita..

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Whoopie Fibre Broadband – New ISP in Town?

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Pricing/Plans:

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